The Purpose of My Email Is to Urge You to Participate in a Historic Opportunity That Can

The purpose of our email is to urge you to participate in a historic opportunity that can save lives, bring about lasting peace and make a tremendous difference for the future of the Congo and Africa for generations to come. Such opportunities only come about once in generations and if missed may not come about again for decades.

We are hopeful that as students, you will seize the moment and work with the Congolese to educate and mobilize fellow students about the situation in the Congo. The Friends of the Congo works with courageous Congolese women, students and human rights leaders who have waged a relentless battle for peace and stability in their country.

The Friends of the Congo (FOTC) is a US based advocacy, non-profit organization that is educating the global community about the atrocities taking place in the Congo in an attempt to stem what has been the largest number of deaths as a result of conflict since World War II. In fact, over 4 million Congolese have died due to conflict since 1998, 1,000 Congolese continue to die each day, tens of thousands of women and children have been raped and both children and adults have been subjected to forced labor and exploitation in mines and on plantations run by foreign corporations.

Contrary to popular belief, the atrocities taking place are not a result of tribal warfare but rather because of a scramble by outsiders (neighboring countries and western corporations) for the precious resources of the Congo. This includes the illegal and immoral exploitation of diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, silver, timber, tin, uranium and coltan (mineral that is central to the cell phone, computer and electronics industry of developed nations). With an estimated $24 trillion in mineral reserves, Congo is arguably the richest country on earth in terms of natural resources. But unfortunately, it has some of the poorest inhabitants living on an average of $100 per year.

We are hopeful that you will join us in this urgent endeavor as we work side-by-side with the Congolese in their quest to control their resources and shape their destiny. We are currently working to establish an extensive global student support network, which will link us with college campus liaisons and create the infrastructure to mobilize for substantial and lasting change in the Congo.

Let's act now! You can help by taking THREE simple actions:

1. LEARN about what is taking place in the Congo and why 4 million fellow humans have perished without an outcry from the international community. 2. SPREAD the word about what Friends of the Congo is doing by sharing our website (http://www.friendsofthecongo.org) and blog (http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/Blog.php) with your fellow students. 3. INVITE us to your campus to speak.

We look forward to hearing from you and working together to change the course of history for the Congo and the continent of Africa. Should you need to contact us directly, please call 1-888-584-6510 or email: [email protected].